Inaugural Gordy Shields Memorial Ride a Success!

More than 45 cyclists from all over San Diego came together at Grossmont College on Sunday, April 20, for the Inaugural Gordy Shields Memorial Ride organized by SDBC's Pat Murray and CycloVets' Darryl MacKenzie. A short convocation was offered by Pat Murray who recounted a personal story about Gordy Shields and his family. She also related that "He had a delight in everything he did and that joy transferred onto every person whose life he touched." Darryl MacKenzie then encouraged the sharing of Gordy stories during the ride and when the group stopped for lunch.
The ride departed at 8 a.m. with members of local cycling organizations, including CycloVets, of which Gordy was a member, San Diego Bicycle Club, San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, and others in attendance. The route westward encompassed Navajo Rd, Waring Rd, Zion Ave, en route to Fiesta Island, with a stop at Silver Terrace Park on Friars Rd for a group photo along the way. Continuing on Friars eventually brought the group to Fiesta Island by 9:30 for a lively long loop lap as a tribute to Gordy's time-trial prowess.
The return trip offered a pleasant lunch stop at Rubios on Mission Gorge Rd with stories and remembrances of Gordy recounted by many. Upon leaving, riders chose to go at their own pace, and there were several groups arriving back at the college at different times, approximately around noon. The 34 mile ride included a 1,200' elevation total for the round trip.
Gordy's influence continues to inspire others and bring the cycling community together. April 20 was declared "Gordy Shields Day" by former city council woman Donna Frye, for his work advocating for safe cycling in San Diego, including the Bayshore Bikeway, and the resurfacing of Fiesta Island. He would have been 96 on April 20. This year, April 20 fell on Easter, and with minimal getting the word out, there was a fine showing regardless. The turnout is only expected to increase in the coming years as it is a perfect vehicle to unite the various cycling clubs of the San Diego community by coming together to celebrate this outstanding individual with a ride in his honor.
Mark your calendars and try to join us in 2015.

Robert's Mini Bike Book Review- The Bicycle Commuter's Handbook

The Bicycle Commuter's Handbook: Gear you Need, Clothes to Wear, Tips for Traffic, Roadside Repair
By Robert Hurst

Review by Robert Leone, Bike Coalition Board Member

If you'd like to get ready for the Bike Month of May, and Bicycle to Work Day, The Bicycle Commuter's Handbook by Robert Hurst should be on your reading list. Rightly, Hurst keeps most of the focus on general principles in this skinny (less than 100 pages of text) and small volume in the “Falcon Guide” series.

For example, Hurst gives a wonderful plug for the benefits of proper bike and rider fitting, but he doesn't give specifics on how to perform this often delicately nuanced task. He properly notes that for many of us the “favored route to get to work in the car could be absolutely nasty on a bike.” He also has a preference for using the largest scale maps with the best details combined with bike-borne reconnaissance, as many times the best bike commute routes depend on often undocumented features and facilities not found on, say, the smaller scale regional maps such as the SANDAG 2010 bike map the SDCBC often hands out to people who want to know where to ride.

Hurst does make specific recommendations when he has particular expertise or experience, or where there is a pressing need. For example, his years as a bicycle messenger leads him not to recommend a messenger bag for hauling to and from work. In the section on roadside repair, a wonderfully specific photo essay on patching tubes is matched for verve by Hurst's vivid hatred of the dreaded “puncture vine,” also known to many riders as “goat head thorns.” The only real error is in the bike type descriptions, where Hurst's photographed sample of a touring bike is, despite it's many eyelets for adding fenders and racks, is actually positioned as that brand's cyclocross bike. Further, his discussion of bike types omits purpose-built commuting bikes, and the two pages spent on the vital subject of lighting omits mention of modern hub generators. Aside from those minor quibbles, this is an excellent book. The Bicycle Commuter's Handbook makes a great read for those who'd like to, but are uncertain as to how to ride to work (or school) and back.

San Diego Multi-Use Pedestrian & Bicycle Pathway Project Ceremony this monday

This Monday, April 21st, 2014, at 11:30am, Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Councilmembers Scott Sherman and Lorie Zapf will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the San Diego Multi-Use Bicycle and Pedestrian Pathway Project. This $1.8 million project consists of a quarter-mile of new multi-use pathway for bicyclists and pedestrians. The project completes a connection between existing bike paths that end on either side of SR-163.
It celebrates the completion of a missing path segment for bicyclists and pedestrians along the San Diego River. Safety components include luminaires, street lights, ADA accessibility, and signage have been completed. An information kiosk for community postings is also completed. It is great news, the addition to new segments is always welcome.

The ribbon-cutting will be at Avenida del Rio, Southeast corner of Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego.

2013 Annual Report

Read our full annual report to see what we accomplished in 2013 thanks to supporters like you and get a peak into what's coming next . . .

Action Alert: Protect Vulnerable Road Users Throughout California

Join the California Bicycle Coalition’s social media push to support California’s Vulnerable Road Users Protection Act, AB 2398. Too many Californians have been injured on our streets or are mourning the death of a loved one due to distracted or negligent motorists. Protecting Californians who ride bikes, walk, run, ride horses, scooter, skateboard, and work on our streets is vital to make California a better place to live. AB 2398 will protect all road users by:

• Raising the fine for hitting a Vulnerable Road User

• Assigning a point on the motorist's driver’s license

• Suspending the offender's license for six months

This bill will remind motorists of their obligation to be cautious of each person on our streets. Join CalBike’s Thunderclap to make a huge social media push, and pressure our representatives to support the Vulnerable Road Users Protection Act. Help make our streets more livable, and take California one step closer to reaching CalBike’s goal of tripling the number of people riding bikes by 2020.

The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition is an affiliate of the California Bicycle Coalition. As an affiliate, our members are represented by the California Bicycle Coalition at the State Capitol and with state agencies like Caltrans. Join us as we support California's Vulnerable Road Users Protection Act, AB 2398.

San Diego County Bicycle Coalition Wins 2014 Diamond Award for Program Excellence

SANDAG honors Bike Coalition for leadership, dedication and commitment to alternative transportation programs in San Diego

SANDAG recently announced the winners of its 2014 Diamond Awards, naming the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition in the category of Program Excellence. The Bike Coalition received the award based on programs and actions taken to encourage commuter choices, effectiveness of said programs and outreach tactics in the San Diego region.

Highlights of the Bicycle Coalition application include: 

• Hosting San Diego’s first-ever open streets celebration, CicloSDias, in August, 2013
• Hosting the sixth annual Bike the Bay, the only opportunity to ride bicycles across the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge
• Coordinating Tour de Fat and raising thousands of dollars for local bicycling nonprofits
• Offering bicycle parking at more than twenty community events in 2013
• Hosting free public workshops to give safety tips to anyone in San Diego bicycling on the road
• Creating the Regional Bike Walk Alliance, a group supporting livable communities and streets in San Diego County
• Partnering for a record-setting Bike to Work Day in 2013
• Participated in City of San Diego Bike Share Review Panel
• Visiting San Diego businesses to present bicycle commuting benefits and resources

“It’s an honor to be recognized amongst some of the best individuals and organizations in San Diego County promoting alternative transportation methods,” says Executive Director of the Coalition, Andy Hanshaw. “We’re grateful to have the Diamond Awards as a formal recognition of all that these folks do on a daily basis to make San Diego a commuter-friendly city.”

The Bicycle Coalition would also like to congratulate its Board Member, Randy Van Vleck, for his involvement with the City Heights Community Development Corporation to earn the Community Champion Diamond Award, as well as its communications consultant, Mixte Communications, for winning Best New Program. 

Join Us for the Opening of New Segment of Coastal Rail Trail

Monday, April 7th 2014, at 1:30 p.m.
in Oceanside, CA